Authorities investigate possible kidnapping of boy in Palmdale

Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives have released a composite sketch of a boy who they said may have been kidnapped Tuesday in Palmdale, along with a sketch of a man police described as a person of interest in the case.

According to a Sheriff’s Department statement, two children reported that a Latino boy they believed to be between 10 and 13 years old was walking, possibly to school, near 26th Street East and Avenue S about 8 a.m. when he was grabbed by two Latinos in their mid-30s.

The witnesses said the men were in a tan compact pickup with tinted windows, two rear cargo doors and a rear sliding window, officials said. They said the boy wore a black shirt and was carrying a black backpack.

Sheriff’s investigators spent the day working with area schools and following other possible leads to determine whether the kidnapping actually occurred, authorities said. In addition, volunteers joined deputies from the sheriff’s Antelope Valley Search & Rescue team as they went door-to-door canvassing the neighborhood for clues, officials said. They also followed up on any students who matched the description given of the boy and who did not attend school Tuesday.

But the identity of the possible kidnap victim remains a mystery. No missing children fitting the description of the boy were reported in the Palmdale area Tuesday, authorities said. The identity of the two alleged kidnappers also remains unknown.

Authorities are seeking the public's assistance in identifying the possible victim. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palmdale Sheriff's Station at (661) 272-2400. Tips may also be provided anonymously to L.A. Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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Photo: Top: Composite sketch of possible kidnap victim. Bottom: Composite sketch of person of interest in possible kidnapping. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 

2 missing girls from North Hollywood found unharmed

Two young girls missing from their North Hollywood home were found unharmed Friday, police said.

Michelle Herrera, 10, and her 13-year-old sister, Bianey Lagunas, apparently ran away from home Thursday, said Sgt. William Mann of the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Division.

On Friday evening, the girls showed up at a friend's home, and the friend's mother took them to the police station, Mann said.

The girls had been “despondent over house rules implemented by their mother,” according to an LAPD statement.

When the girls did not come home from school Thursday, their mother contacted friends but without success, the statement said. She then contacted the police.

Authorities did not release any information about where the girls had been.

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Photos: Michelle Herrera, left, and Bianey Lagunas

Two girls missing from North Hollywood home

Police on Friday were looking for two young girls from North Hollywood who appear to have run away from home.

Michelle Herrera, 10, and her 13-year-old half sister, Bianey Lagunas, were last seen about 8 a.m. Thursday at Sun Valley Middle School, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

When the girls did not come home from school, their mother contacted friends but could not find them, police said. "The children were despondent over house rules implemented by their mother,” the statement said.

Michelle is described as 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 83 pounds, with a thin build. Bianey is 4 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 128 pounds and has a medium build.  

Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is asked to contact the LAPD's North Hollywood Division at (818) 623-4031 or (877) 527-3247.

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Photos: Michelle Herrera, left, and Bianey Lagunas

 

Authorities search for woman suspected of abducting sons

 Authorities were searching Sunday for a woman who they said abducted her two young sons and may be planning to leave the country.

Rachel Ann Guerrero, 30, was having lunch with the children’s paternal grandmother Friday when she left with her 21-month-old and 6-year-old sons, according to Sgt. Barry Shapiro of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Guerrero does not have custody of the children and did not have permission to take them, officials said.

Guerrero agreed to return the children to their maternal grandfather, who has full custody, at a local amusement park later in the day Friday but did not turn up, they said.

L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services officials told authorities Saturday that the children were missing and that they may be in danger because Guerrero suffers from mental health and substance abuse issues.

Guerrero may be planning to flee with the children to the Dominican Republic, officials said.

She is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall; weighs about 110 pounds; has black hair and brown eyes; and frequents the Carson and San Pedro areas, they said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Carson sheriff’s station watch commander at (310) 830-1123. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call (800) 222-TIPS.

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Photo: Rachel Ann Guerrero. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Woman, 2 children reported missing in Long Beach

The Long Beach Police Department is asking for help in locating a mentally disabled woman and two children who went missing Saturday night after leaving an apartment complex to go to a nearby restaurant.

Marie Williams, 25; Sarah White, 8; and Nicholas Sanders, 6, left about 6 p.m. and never returned to the complex. Relatives searched the neighborhood and then called police after 11 p.m.

Police said the three, who are not related, were last seen walking together on Santa Fe Avenue.

Williams, who lives at the apartment complex with a relative, is 5 feet 5 and weighs 170 pounds. She has short brown hair. She was wearing a turquoise short-sleeve shirt and short jeans.

Nicholas is 4 feet tall, weighs 50 pounds and has short hair. He was wearing a green and blue shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes. He and his family also live at the apartment complex.

Sarah is 4 feet tall and weighs 45 pounds. She has braided hair and was wearing a white short-sleeve shirt, jeans and pink and black tennis shoes. She and her mother were visiting friends at the complex.

Long Beach police have notified other law enforcement agencies, hospitals and public transportation agencies. 

Police have asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to call (562) 435-6711.

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Photos: Marie Williams, left, Sarah White and Nicholas Sanders. Credit: Courtesy Long Beach Police Department

Girls missing from Long Beach motel found; mother arrested

Two girls who were missing from a Long Beach motel Wednesday evening have been located, police said. 

The girls’ mother, Diondria Cherie Davis, 33, was arrested earlier Saturday on suspicion of felony child endangerment, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Davis’ daughters, ages 9 and 13, were first reported missing Friday from the motel in the 800 block of East Pacific Coast Highway. 

The girls were found uninjured about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.

Davis told police she had accepted an offer from a stranger, a woman, to care for her girls Wednesday and that she had not seen them since. Police searched the motel and surrounding areas and released to the media a surveillance image of the woman who took the girls, whom they identified as "CC."

After seeing her photo in the media, the woman contacted the L.A. County Sheriff’s station in Lynwood, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Police said they were questioning the woman but had not yet determined whether she would be placed under arrest. 

Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to contact Long Beach Police Dets. Scott Lasch and Donald Goodman at (562) 570-7244. 

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Man who led police on chase is questioned about missing girlfriend

A man who led police on a high-speed chase Thursday evening that stopped traffic on the 5 Freeway near the San Onofre nuclear power plant is being questioned in the disappearance of his girlfriend and her two young children.

Shazer Limas, 31, was wanted for questioning after managers in his former apartment complex called to report something suspicious in an apartment he had just vacated.

Limas had lived in the apartment with his girlfriend, Arlet Hernandez, 31, and her two sons, a 2-year-old and a 3-month-old, said Sgt. Dan Adams of the Orange Police Department.

"He moved out of the apartment several days ago," Adams said. "When management went in the apartment, the management found suspicious things that led them to call us."

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Adams declined to elaborate on what was suspicious in the unit. He added: "What we found obviously concerned us, and that is why we're actively trying to locate Arlet and the two children. It obviously raises the level of suspicion that Mr. Limas led us on a high-speed pursuit."

Missing girl found safe at a friend's house

A 10-year-old girl reported missing by her family in the Echo Park area was found Saturday, safe at a friend's house, police said.

Calling the incident a big misunderstanding, Los Angeles police said the girl, Yaiza Cuevas, spent the night at a friend's house but somehow her family never got the message and reported her missing.

She was found about 4:45 a.m.

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